Casino card game

ABSTRACT

A casino game between a dealer and a player using uses multiple decks of playing cards each consisting of forty cards Ace through ten for each of four suits and a specific layout for mounting on top of gaming table. The layout has a king of spades, or as an additional embodiment other face cards would be used i.e. queen or jack of any suit, embedded into the layout at each of the player and dealer&#39;s stations. The cards each have a value equal to the face value of the card except aces, which may be valued at one or eleven. The player makes a base wager and the dealer deals one card to the player and one card to the dealer. Both player and dealer use the embedded king of spades, or other face card, located in the layout in front of each station, as part of their hand. The layout king has a value of ten. The player forms a final hand by standing or receiving additional cards. If the player receives a card that causes the player&#39;s hand to exceed twenty-one, the player automatically loses and his base wager is collected. The dealer forms a final hand by drawing additional cards or standing, optionally according to house rules. Base wagers are resolved by summing the values of the cards in the dealer&#39;s hand and declaring the final hand having a sum closer to twenty-one, without exceeding twenty-one, to be the winning hand. Players having winning hands are rewarded and wagers are collected from players having losing hands. In the event of a push, the player&#39;s base wager is returned.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION-FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to card games. Specifically the present invention is a wagering card game played with an abridged deck of cards and specific layout in which the object of the game is to form a final hand closer to twenty-one than a dealer's hand without exceeding twenty-one by receiving additional cards or standing on the initial hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Blackjack is a well-known casino card game. The object of Blackjack is to obtain a final hand total as close to twenty-one as possible without exceeding twenty-one. For purposes of calculating a hand total, each card has a value equal to the value shown on its face except face cards, which have a designated value of ten, and Aces, which may have a value of eleven or one as player selects.

In Blackjack, each player places a wager. A dealer deals two cards to each player and to their self. The dealer's cards are dealt with one card face up and the other face down. All players receiving a natural twenty-one or Blackjack, i.e. a total of twenty-one in the initial dealt hand, are immediately rewarded and their cards collected. Typically, Blackjacks are rewarded at a rate of 2:1 or 3:2.

Each remaining player may opt to hit, i.e. receive one or more additional cards, or stand, i.e. stand on the player's current hand, with the object being to obtain a hand total closer to twenty-one than the dealer's hand total. If the player hits and receives a card that causes his hand total to exceed twenty-one, the player busts and the player's wager is immediately collected and play is terminated as to that player.

A player may also have additional options available depending on the initial hand dealt. If the player receives a pair, i.e. two cards having the same face value, the player may double his wager and split the pair, using each card of the pair as a base for a separate hand. For example, if a player were to be dealt a pair of sevens, the player may split the pair by doubling his wager and playing with two hands each having a seven and an additional dealt card.

A player may also have the option to double down. Although the availability of the double down varies from casino to casino, doubling down allows a player to double the player's wager in exchange for a single additional card. Frequently, the double down option is only available to players having an initial hand total of ten or eleven.

After all players have formed a final hand or busted, the dealer reveals the dealer's hand and forms a final dealer hand by hitting or standing as the house rules dictate. House rules typically require the dealer to hit on any hand total less than seventeen. The dealer resolves wagers by rewarding, typically at even money, all players with a final hand total closer to twenty-one than the dealer's final hand total. Conversely, wagers are collected from players with a final hand total further from twenty-one than the dealers final hand total. If the dealer busts, i.e. has a final hand total exceeding twenty-one, all players who did not bust or receive a Blackjack are rewarded, again, typically at even money. If the player and dealer push, i.e. have the same final hand total; the player's wager is returned.

One known drawback of Blackjack is that in a fast paced casino game; the player must sum the cards of his or her hand quickly to avoid interfering with the flow of play.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a new game which is simpler to play than conventional Blackjack, yet provides a similar objective of forming a final hand closer to a target value than the dealer's hand while maintaining the familiarity of the original Blackjack game.

SUMMARY

A method of playing a casino game between a dealer and at least one player begins by providing a multiple decks of cards and a game layout. The deck consists of at least one deck of forty cards consisting essentially of the cards Ace through ten for each of four suits. The layout consists of seven player stations and one dealer's station. A king of spades, or as an additional embodiment any other face card may be used, is printed on the layout in front of each of the player and dealer's stations.

The game begins with each player placing a wager and the dealer dealing one card to each player and one card to the dealer. This first card dealt, combined with the king, or other face card used, on the layout forms the base hand. Each player, in turn forms a final hand by opting to receive additional cards or standing on the base hand. The values of the cards in the player's hand are summed. In summing the cards, the Ace is designated as having a value of one or eleven and the other cards have the value shown on the face of the card. The player's objective in forming his final hand is to obtain a sum closer to twenty-one than the dealer's sum without exceeding twenty-one. If the player exceeds twenty-one, the player automatically loses and his base wager is collected. Forming a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card used, is considered a suited hand. If the player forms a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king, or other face card used, and the dealer's final hand consists of any cards other than the Ace of spades and embedded king, or other face card as used, the player wins and is rewarded at greater than even money. If both player and dealer form a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king, or other face card used, the game is a push and player's wager is returned.

In an optional embodiment, a player may also have the option to double down. The player may choose to double down after the first card is dealt. The player must put up a second wager equal to the original base wager. Doubling down allows a player to double the player's wager in exchange for a single additional card dealt one card.

In an optional embodiment, if after drawing a second dealt card the player has formed a hand consisting of a pair along with the embedded king, or other face card used, i.e. on initial deal the player receives a three, draws another card which is also a three, the player may choose to split the hand. When a pair is split the embedded king, or other face card used, is carried with each split card and is summed as part of the total of each hand.

After each player forms a final hand, the dealer forms a final dealer hand. In forming the final dealer hand, the dealer plays according to a predetermined set of house rules. For example, the dealer receives additional cards until his total is greater than or equal to seventeen.

Once the dealer has formed a final dealer hand, the dealer sums the values of the cards in the dealer's final hand and compares his final hand with each player's final hand. The hand having a sum closer to twenty-one, without exceeding twenty-one, is the winning hand. In the event that the player and dealer have identical sums, a push is declared and the wager is neither collected nor rewarded.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a game that is directed at obtaining a target value and is easy to learn and play while maintaining the familiarity of the original Blackjack game.

DRAWINGS

Attached drawing,

FIG. 1 shows the layout used during play of the game. Kings are embedded into the layout. Kings are played with all hands. As an additional embodiment other face cards i.e. queen or jack may be substituted in place of the embedded king.

Attached drawing,

FIG. 2, is a flowchart of an embodiment of the wagering game method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to the figures wherein like parts are referred to by like numerals throughout. The game of the present invention is played using multiple modified standard decks of cards. Specifically, the game of the present invention is played with multiple decks of forty cards consisting essentially of the cards Ace through ten for each four suits. That is, the face cards are removed from a standard deck to create the modified deck of the present invention. As will be discussed in greater detail below, Aces have a designated value of one or eleven as the player selects or as mathematics dictates. For example, if designating an Ace as an eleven will cause the player's hand to exceed the target value of twenty-one, the player will elect to count the Ace as a one. All other cards have a designated value equal to the number on the face of the card.

The game of the present invention is played between a dealer and at least one player. Alternatively, the game may be played by a player against a gaming machine or a conventional purpose computer running software embodying the method of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the game begins with a player making a base wager 10. The dealer deals a single card to the player and a single card to the dealer 12. The cards may be dealt face up or face down: however, in an optional embodiment, the card dealt to the player is face up and the card dealt to the dealer is face down. Both the player and dealer sum the total of their hand using the value of the initial dealt card and the value of ten represented by the embedded king, or other face card. Thus, for example, if the player is dealt a three, the current sum of his or her hand is thirteen when summed using both the three and the value of the embedded king, or other embedded face card.

The player forms a final hand by opting 14 to receive additional cards or stand on his or her initial holding. The object of the game is to form a final hand closer to twenty-one than the dealers hand without exceeding twenty-one. In an additional embodiment, forming a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king of spades is considered a suited hand. If the player forms a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king, and the dealer's final hand consists of any cards other than the Ace of spades and embedded king, the player wins and is rewarded at greater than even money. If both player and dealer form a final hand consisting of the Ace of spades and the embedded king, the game is a push and player's wager is returned. As an additional embodiment a face card of any suit may be substituted for the king of spades. When a face card is substituted for the king of spades the Ace of the substituted suit along with the substituted face card would make up the suited hand.

If the player receives additional cards 14 and any single card causes the sum of the cards in the player's hand to exceed twenty-one 16, the player automatically loses and the player's base wager is collected 18.

After each player forms a final hand, the dealer forms a final dealer hand 20. While it is contemplated that the dealer could make a decision to receive additional cards or stand, in an optional embodiment, the dealer forms his or her final hand according to a predetermined set of house rules. For example, the house rules could dictate that the dealer receive additional cards if his hand total is less than seventeen and stand if his or her hand total is greater than or equal to seventeen. If the dealer receives a card that causes 22 his hand total to exceed twenty-one, all remaining players who have not exceeded the target value of twenty-one are rewarded based on their base wagers 26.

Otherwise, the dealer resolves 24 base wagers by comparing the final dealer hand to each final hand. In each comparison, a determination is made whether the dealer hand or the player hand is the winning hand. The winning hand is the hand with a sum closer to twenty-one, without exceeding twenty-one. Players with winning hands are rewarded, optionally at even money 26. Base wagers from players with losing hands are collected 18. Thus, for example, if the dealer has the hand 7 of diamonds with the embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card, and a player has a hand of 10 of clubs with the embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card used, the player is declared the winner and rewarded 26 according to his base wager. Conversely, if the dealer has the hand 10 of clubs and the embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card, and the player has a hand 7 of diamonds and the embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card, the dealer is declared the winner and the player's base wager is collected 18. In the event that the player and dealer have identical sums 28, a push is declared and the base wager is neither collected nor rewarded, i.e. the player's base wager is returned 30.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described it is to be understood that the present invention is subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims presented herein. 

1. A method of playing a casino game between a dealer and at least one player, the dealer playing according to a predetermined set of house rules, comprising: Providing at least one deck of forty cards Ace through ten for each of four suits, the Aces designated as having a value of either one or eleven and all other cards assigned the value shown on the face of card; Providing a game layout, FIG. 1, consisting of six or seven player stations, a dealer station and an embedded king of spades, or other substituted face card, at each said station: The player making a base wager; The dealer dealing one card to the player and one card to the dealer; The player forming a final hand by opting to stand on his or her single card or receive one or more additional cards, the player busting and automatically losing the player's base wager is the sum of the values of the cards in the player's final hand exceeds twenty-one. The dealer forming a final hand by standing or drawing additional cards according to said house rules; Summing the values of the cards in the player's final hand; Resolving the player's base wager if the player's final hand is the winning hand, collecting the player's base wager if the dealer's final hand is the winning hand, and returning the player's base wager if the player and dealer push.
 2. A method of claim 1 wherein said house rules comprise the dealer receiving additional cards until the sum of the dealer's final hand is greater than or equal to seventeen.
 3. A method of playing a casino game between a dealer and at least one player, the dealer playing according to a predetermined set of house rules, comprising; providing at least one deck of forty cards consisting essentially of the cards Ace through ten for each of four suits, the Aces assigned a value of either one or eleven and all other cards assigned the value shown on the face of card; the player making a base wager; the dealer dealing one card to the player and one card to the dealer; the player forming a final hand by opting to stand on his single card or receive one or more additional cards, the player busting and automatically losing the player's base wager if the sum of the values of the cards in the player's final hand exceeds twenty-one. The dealer forming a final hand by standing or drawing additional cards according to said house rules; summing the values of the cards in the player's final hand; resolving the player's base wager by summing the values of the cards in the dealer's hand and declaring the final hand having a sum closer to twenty-one, without exceeding twenty-one, to be the winning hand, a push declared if the sum of the player's final hand equals the sum of the dealer's final hand; and paying the player according to the player's base wager if the player's final hand is the winning hand, collecting the player's base wager if the dealer's final hand is the winning hand, and returning the player's base wager if the player and dealer push. 